Read an E-Book Week: March 6-12, 2011

Did you know that it's the 40th anniversary of the E-Book? That's right, they've been around for a long time!

Head over to the Read an E-Book Week website and take advantage of the great deals and give-aways that are going on. There are some great partners this year and I know that there will be something for everyone. If you haven't tried reading an E-Book yet, now is the time to find great Free E-Books to test the waters with.

Most Smart Phones have apps that will read a variety of E-Book formats along with dedicated Readers like Sony, Cybook, Kindle, and Kobo. Of course you could always read an E-Book on your iPad or Computer/Laptop as well. :)

Fictionwise Anniversary Sale

ANNIVERSARY SALE -- STILL GOING!

The Fictionwise Anniversary Sale is still going!

For a limited time, every MultiFormat eBook is discounted 40% (Samhain Excluded) while every Secure eBook receives a 40% Micropay rebate when paying with a credit card or PayPal! This great offer can't last forever, so now's the time to restock your virtual library.

Shop Now

Fictionwise Sale - eSlick Reader Only $259 with $100 for eBooks

With a crisp, paper-like E-Ink display and capacity for thousands of eBooks, the slim, easy-to-carry eSlick Reader is a great eBook device! In this LIMITED TIME OFFER, you can buy the eSlick reader for just $259.99 and get $100 in Micropay Rebates to spend on eBooks! Hurry, grey units are sold out, but white or black are still available. Don't wait, shop now!

Fictionwise - 25% off until December 15, 2009

Fictionwise is offering a special deal for Windows Phone Thoughts readers.

Simply use the code "thoughts25" during the checkout process and receive 25% off your purchase. Now you can go grab some ebooks for your Windows Mobile device and have some reading material for the holidays. The coupon expires Tuesday, December 15th so hurry up and go get some books. Happy reading!

This code works with the 40-60% discount for even more savings!

Fictionwise: End of Year Storewide Blowout!

From now until December 31, EVERY MultiFormat eBook is discounted 40% to 60% and EVERY Secure eBook receives a 40% to 60% Micropay Rebate when paying with a credit card or PayPal! Start Shopping Now!

Sony to sell Epub only

On August 12 it was announced that Sony would be leaving behind their own eBook format and moving to ePub exclusively. This is a HUGE step towards reducing the format confusion which surrounds eBooks today. The MobileRead community has been quite vocal about this announcement, read their reactions here: Breaking news!!!!! Sony to sell Epub only

More details at Teleread courtersy of NYTimes

On Thursday, Sony Electronics, which sells e-book devices under the Reader brand, plans to announce that by the end of the year it will sell digital books only in the ePub format, an open standard created by a group including publishers like Random House and HarperCollins.

Sony will also scrap its proprietary anticopying software in favor of technology from the software maker Adobe that restricts how often e-books can be shared or copied.

After the change, books bought from Sony’s online store will be readable not just on its own device but on the growing constellation of other readers that support ePub. Those include the Plastic Logic eReader, a thin device that has been in development for nearly a decade and is expected to go on sale early next year.

“There is going to be a proliferation of different reading devices, with different features and capabilities and prices for a different set of consumer requirements,” said Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading unit. “If people are going to this e-book shopping mall, they are going to want to shop at all the stores, and not just be required to shop at one store.”

Here is a list of Readers which support ePub courtesy of the MobileRead Wiki:

Software

Adobe Digital Editions - This reads Adobe DRM ePUB ebooks as well as non-DRM.

AZARDI - read ePUB and verify conformance.

Bookworm

Calibre - Windows, MacOS X and Linux

FBReader, Windows and more

OpenBerg Lector - Browser plugin

Stanza, Windows, MacOS X, and iPhone

Hardware

Sony Reader PRS-700 - Sony Readers also support Adobe ADEPT (DRM) technology (EPUB/PDF)

Sony Reader PRS-505 - Among other things, the V1.1 (Jul'08) firmware update added ePub support to the 505.

Hanlin V3 and all its clones Bebook, EZ Reader, etc. See the full list - No DRM, A new firmware release (August 2009) uses ADE software that can support DRM

JetBook - No DRM

Bookeen Cybook Opus - Full support using ADE.

eReader.com - 25% Rewards on ALL Science Fiction Titles

New BeBook Firmware - Beta

BeBook released a new Beta firmware on August 7th which allows the user to read DRM ePub eBooks. This seems like a great thing, except it also means the user can no longer read their DRM Mobipocket eBooks. If you are interested in reading ePub eBooks on your BeBook please read these warnings carefully so that you aren't surprised by the results.

Changes to last update:

WARNING: Removes the ability to read Mobipocket DRM protected files. (non DRM Mobipocket files can still be read)
CHANGE: This updates your BeBook adding support for DRM protected PDF and EPUB files using Adobe (r) DRM.
CHANGE: adds compatibility with Adobe Digital Editions book management software.
CHANGE: auto recognition in Adobe Digital Editions identifying the device as 'BeBook'
CHANGE: adds reflowable PDF and Epub file support.

NOTE: If you got a library of mobipocket protected files, you can always revert to the latest mobipocket version of the software. This can be downloaded HERE. It is possible to switch back and forth between firmware version containing different DRM protection systems.

// DRM rant starts here.

I find this whole situation puzzling and frustrating. Amazon owns Mobipocket and also owns the Kindle. I'm not quite sure why, but they really don't want any dedicated eBook reader to have Mobipocket on it and any other DRM format. I find this a little silly because I can read eReader, PDF, and Mobipocket eBooks on my PC and my PDA just by downloading the software. But for the dedicated reading devices there isn't the option to add on a new piece of software, we are at the mercy of firmware updates and those that create the firmware are at the mercy of the agreements the various software companies will allow. Cybook has decided to release 2 firmware versions, 1 for Mobipocket and 1 for ePub, but never the twain shall meet. While non-DRM ePub eBooks do exist, you have to have the Cybook isn't allowed to load the software that lets you read them without having the DRM portion active. More knowledgeable people than I have figured this out, I'm going to trust their explanation. Thankfully BeBook has been able to allow for non-DRM Mobipocket to be read while their ePub firmware is installed, I have to assume they are using a different software package to display the Mobipocket eBooks.

Many publishers in Europe are starting to release more ePub eBook than Mobipocket and Europe is a large market for eBook readers. This has resulted in more and more eBook readers coming out with the ability to read DRM ePub and not DRM Mobipocket. To me this means that Mobipocket, as an entity separate from Amazon, is going to be lose eBook sales to ePub. This isn't good business sense, it almost seems like Amazon is forgetting that there is a whole big world of end users out there that aren't located in the US and can't purchase the Kindle, myself included.

Wow that is a lot of cryptic letters, my least favourite set is "DRM." We all know what this means when related to music; iTunes & Windows Media Player formats can only be played with certain devices and software while MP3 format can be played by pretty much anything. Well it's the same with eBook readers. We have many many 'restricted' formats such as Microsoft Lit, eReader, Mobipocket, and Sony Reader, however we have very few unrestricted formats, HTML and TXT, which are able to be read on almost any eBook reader.

Currently I prefer the Mobipocket format, but this format could go away if Amazon keeps limiting access on the dedicated eBook reading devices. There is always a way around this, DRM can be removed and formats can be converted to be read on any device. Of course you need to take into account both legal and moral issues before you make this decision. It comes down to "if you buy an eBook, are you really just renting it?" more and more it seems like the answer is "Yes" to that question, unless you want to join the growing number of format shifters who cling to "Personal Use" as validation for keeping use of their eBooks while moving from device to device. DRM removal and format shifting is a grey area, it's legal in some countries and not in others, as far as I know it's not been tested in the courts as it pertains to personal use. Use your own best judgement before jumping into the deep end this grey pool.

The dream of many of us when ePub was announced as an open standard for eBooks was that it would solidify the eBook world into a single open unrestricted format similar to what MP3 is to the music world. This isn't happening. When the standard was created the DRM option was created but no DRM standard was set. This means that most publishers who lean towards protected formats will push for DRM versions of their ePub books. It also means that each 'creator' of a ePub DRM format can pick their own solution, we already have Adobe's version of ePub with DRM and there is talk of others setting up their own versions. There are rumours that Fictionwise will release their own version ePub eBooks along with their well known eReader format. We don't know if they will adopt the same DRM criteria as Adobe or create their own version which mimics the end user friendly DRM found in eReader eBooks. All I know is that if a variety of ePub DRM formats show up on the scene, it won't be fun for anyone, especially the End User who just wants to buy ePub eBooks to read on their ePub ready eBook reader. I feel the dream of ePub uniting the eBook world crumbling as I type.

DRM Rant ends. //

Still learning the eBook system after all these years

I've been wanting to read Rebecca York's "Moon series" for a long time, but up until now book 2 was not available in eBook format, neither was book 4. I am not one of those people who can jump around in a series and make it work and I like to have the entire series in the same format. I *could* have bought and downloaded books 1, 3, 5, 6, etc., and then purchased the paper versions of books 2 and 4. But then I would have to remember when re-reading that I have to go to the bookshelf for those 2 books instead of to my computer. Just doesn't work for me. So I purchased the Moon series eBooks that were available when they were on sale and patiently waited for the rest to arrive in the digital world.

My patience has finally been rewarded! Fictionwise has Book 2 "Edge of the Moon" & book 4 "Crimson Moon" available for purchase and immediate download! I'm thrilled, now I can finally see what all the fuss is about for this series! I still don't know why the publisher decided to release the back issues in such an odd order, but at least they finally released them all. I will be taking advantage of Fictionwise's 100% rebate offer to get these books so they will be free, sorta. If you have a current 5 yr Buywise membership with Fictionwise you already qualify for 100% rebate on all their eBooks until June 21st. No, I don't work for them, I just love their Buywise special discounts.

On another note BooksOnBoard has changed their Rewards program. It use to be that if you purchased an eBook with rewards offered you had to email them your receipt to have the rewards added to your account. This was a great system for them as I know I missed out on several opportunities to get rewards simply by forgetting to email them my receipt. It was also good for us as the rewards were applied to your account even if you had used reward dollars to pay for all or a portion of the purchase. The updated process allows the rewards to be applied to your account automatically without any emails being sent. This is a good thing, unless you have several eBooks to purchase which have Reward specials applied. I purchased 4 Young Adult eBooks last night using the "YouthOnBoard" coupon code and used $6 reward dollars. All was fine until I mindlessly clicked past the warning which said

"PLEASE NOTE: If you apply Rewards Dollars to a purchase, you will not receive additional Rewards credit for the titles you purchased. Rewards Dollars cannot be used to earn further Rewards"

What I should have done is purchase One eBook with the coupon code and my $6 reward dollars, making it almost free. Then start a new order for the remaining three eBooks using the coupon code and no reward dollars so that I could get my $3 reward dollars issued to my account for the purchase, instead of the $0 I got by purchasing all 4 eBooks on the same order. *sigh* Live and learn I guess. Once again I've cost myself *free* money, but at least I got 22% off.

Back to the Cybook for a while

I've been reading a lot of Historical Fiction lately, specifically Dracula and historical romances. This type of eBook seems to always have words in them which have dropped out of common usage but which are exactly perfect for the time they are set in. This means that I need to be able to easily look up the words in order to get the full effect of the story. For me, this also means that when I pick up an eBook reader to read them on, I choose the Cybook. I know that I posted how to use a dictionary on the BeBook, but I've never been able to get it to work myself. Also, I hate leaving the book I'm in to look up a word, though I would if I could figure out how. If anyone has suggestions on things I can try to get my Dictionaries working on the BeBook I would be happy to test them out.

Anyway, this means I'm back to the Cybook with my handy dandy "Concise Oxford English Dictionary" (13 MB of concise!) and the "Chambers Dictionary" (25 MB!!!). Between those two I know I will find the definition of any word an author can throw at me. Some people have complained that the dictionary lookup on the Cybook is slow, I've not found this to be the case even with over 400 eBooks loaded. I have all my eBooks in folders based on Genre and my Dictionaries are in the root of the "/eBooks" folder. This way when the Cybook goes looking for dictionaries they are the first things it finds, it has sped up my lookup time significantly. When I had dictionaries in the "Non-Fiction" folder it could take 30 seconds or more to get a definition, I was almost about to give up. Then I moved the dictionaries out of the genre folders put them by themselves. Now I get the 'cursor' to pick a word almost instantly and it only takes about 5 seconds to get a definition once the word is selected.

Having two dictionaries loaded at the same time means that I am often offered 2 different definitions for the same word, it also means that choosing "Back" from the menu will only take me back to the 2 definitions. Now I get to play with the buttons on the left hand side of the Cybook and click on the button with an arrow on it. This will step me back all the way to where I left off in my eBook. It is just sooo convenient to be able to get the definition of an unfamiliar word without having to leave my eBook to do so.

Buywise Super Promo: 100% Rebates!

Buywise Super Promo: 100% Rebates!

This week Fictionwise goes where no eBook store has gone before: Until June 21, all five-year Buywise subscribers may purchase any of our 64,000+ eBook titles and receive 100% of the purchase price back as a Micropay Rebate when paying by credit card or PayPal. Learn More.

Fictionwise Anniversary Sale

Fictionwise is nine this year!

Celebrate with us and save 30% to 50% on every eBook, with Micropay Rebates and discounts throughout our store!

MultiFormat:
# Under $5.00 list price: 30% discount
# Between $5.00 and $6.00 list price: 40% discount
# Over $6.00 list price: 50% discount

Secure formats:
# Under $6.00 list price: 30% Micropay Rebate with credit card or PayPal transaction
# $6.00 to $9.00 list price: 40% Micropay Rebate with credit card or PayPal transaction
# Over $9.00 list price: 50% Micropay Rebate with credit card or PayPal transaction

This sale excludes all New York Times Bestsellers.

Update: This sale is now over

Fictionwise: Mother's Day sale for Romance ebooks

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY SALE!

Mother's Day is just around the corner. Use coupon 'MOMSDAY' for a 20% discount on ALL Romance eBooks. Treat your mom or yourself! SHOP NOW!

Edit: This sale is now over

Fictionwise goes Star Trek crazy!

From the Fictionwise.com homepage:

Stardate 05.05.2009:
Fictionwise boldly goes where no eBook store has gone before with huge rebates on all Star Trek eBooks! We've set our phasers on SAVE with a truly stunning deal that only a Romulan (or Tribble) would ignore. Beam all your favorite Star Trek characters into your iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, or other device and receive a galaxy-sized Micropay rebate when paying by credit transaction. But dammit, Jim, we're eBook retailers, not miracle workers, so we can't keep this up for long -- don't miss out. Live long and start buying!

• All Star Trek eBooks: 60% Micropay Rebate
• New Star Trek Movie-Tie Pre-Order eBook: 100% Rebate
• All Science Fiction eBooks: Secure Titles -- 30% Micropay Rebate; MultiFormat Titles -- 30% Off
• Buy Secure eReader and get a bonus 5% Micropay Rebate

Edit: This sale is now over

CyberRead Sale - 25% off eBooks

BeBook and the Public Library

People have traditionally used the Library to get access to books without spending vast amounts of $ to support their reading habit. Recently several Public Libraries around the world have added Mobipocket and Adobe PDF eBooks to their circulation. Since the BeBook reads Mobipocket eBooks it would be logical to think that they can read eBooks from the library and they can... with a little help. As with the Cybook a simple fix has been devised to set the Date and Time on the BeBook which allows Library eBooks to 'expire' as expected and allows us to never again see the dreaded "This ebook is not active yet" message.

The script for this fix has been endorsed by the BeBook Support staff in this thread: "This eBook is not active yet". So feel free to follow these instructions and read any Mobipocket Library eBook you want. For a comprehensive list of libraries to get your eBook fix from check out MobileRead.com's "EBook Lending Libraries" Wiki.

Download settime.exe.fb2 (the extension should be .fb2) and save it to your SD card, then go to the bookshelf and open settime.exe.fb2

You will see the menu for making the changes. DO NOT PRESS "Cancel" BUTTON on your BeBook during this process. If you do so, you will not harm the device, but you would have to reset it by pressing the reset button on the back of BeBook. You will see the spinning symbol making it appear that the file is still loading, this is normal, go ahead and navigate as below.

The navigation is simple:

• keys 1 and 2 select the thing that you want to change (hour, min, year, OK, etc)
• keys keys 4, 5 and 9, 0 do the increment or decrement for the selected field.
• Cancel -- exit without saving.
• Ok -- save and exit.

The time and date will be saved in the BeBook memory only until you switch it off. There is no backup battery inside so that information (the configured time/date) cannot be kept or preserved. Just put your BeBook into 'standby mode' with the short press of the power button, this will not run down your battery as fast as leaving it on.

25 Euro BeBook Discount Code: justy@telus.net

An interesting idea

If you like shopping for books online but miss the 'browsing in a bookstore' feeling you may like Zoomi Books, "A "real" bookstore with Amazon's prices, Amazon's secure payment, Amazon's shipping. " When you are in Zoomi you can browse Bestsellers, jump right to the sections you want and browse the shelves, or search for a book as you would in any online bookstore. I think it is an interesting concept and certainly allows for the chance of finding a new author just because the cover looked good ;) I know, it's not nice to judge a book by it's cover, but in a 'real' bookstore it takes a good cover and a catchy title to make me look at a book by an author I've not read before. I don't think Zoomi will change that.

Free Book online

Scott Sigler has gotten permission from his publisher to give away electronic copies of his new hardcover book, Infected. (For those not familiar with Scott Sigler, he is known for his horror/sci-fi audiobooks)

From his blog:

Quote:

Crown Publishing is letting me give away the PDF of INFECTED from March 27 through March 31, leading up to the hardcover in-store release on April 1. So download it! Feel free to email the link to anyone you know. Please do not email the PDF, email the LINK. This is so I can prove to Crown the value in giving away content, and if your friends click on the link, that counts on their server stats - emailing the PDF do Publish Post esn't count on the stats. THANKS & ENJOY!

Get Infected here.

eBook Readers

There are/were 3 options that I was/am looking at to replace or suppliment my current PDA an iPAQ 2400.

1. the new iPAQ 210 which has a 4" VGA screen, I am drooling just thinking about how good my wallpaper and applications would look on this baby. The iPAQ would allow me to use all my calendar functions, link to Outlook, read my eBooks in any format, and play games in full living colour. This is all proven technology and I know it would work for what I need, but I am getting a little bit of eye strain from my current iPAQ. Perhaps the bigger screen and better resolution would help.
2. the Kindle from Amazon.com should they ever decide to sell it to Canadians. This one I have completely removed from my list. It was high up there before it was released because it had EVDO instant access to the bookstore, Mobipocket support, and more. But now I see that it will only support "Unprotected" Mobi files, this means that the vast library of DRM Mainstream books I have bought over the past 3 years of reading would not be able to be loaded and read on this one. That is a LOT of books!! and I actually re-read my books, over and over again. So this is a HUGE disadvantage for the Kindle, in my view.
3. the Cybook from Bookeen. This one is pretty good, it is *only* an eBook reader, no bells and whistles. It has a 6" grey scale screen which has the same reading experience as reading print on paper. This would definitely allow me to rest my eyes after a long day at the computer at work. It supports DRM and unprotected Mobi files as well as HTML, Txt, PRC, PalmDoc, PDF. This covers all the file types I read. At $350 US I am seriously considering this one. Hubby thinks I'm crazy for looking at an eBook Reader which isn't backlit, but I don't mind the idea of using a book light to have the convience of 100s of books in one slim package and larger screen with easy to read words.

So now it is between the iPAQ and the Cybook. I will wait a bit and see how the reviews look, and what price the iPAQ comes out at before I decide.

The Saint City Street Fair

One of my new Favourite Authors, Lilith Saintcrow, has set up a message board for her fans. The Saint City Street Fair is the place to go to discuss all her books. I devoured her Watcher series in less than a week and am eagerly awaiting the release of "Cloud Watcher" the 4th book which is due out in the fall. I just finished "Working for the Devil" and will be getting book 2 in the Danny Valentine Series "Dead Man Rising" just as soon as I see it in a store. Oh ya, and I just finished reading book 1 of The Society Series and dove right into book 2 "Hunter, Healer."

I only discovered Lilith about 3 months ago and am totally won over! If you enjoy your books a little (or a lot) on the Dark Side, check her out! Did I mention you have a chance to win a book too? If you are one of the first 100 people to post in the "Top Secret Contest" thread on the "Welcome" board of The Saint City Street Fair you could be the proud owner of your very own *signed* copy of "Dead Man Rising." But don't get your hopes up too much, I'm gunna win. ;)